Underwater exploration and recovery vehicle

ABSTRACT

AN UNDERWATER EXPLORATION AND RECOVER VEHICLE CAPABLE OF RECOVERING SUBMERGED OBJECTS FROM THE DEPTHS OF AN OCEAN OR LAKE. THE VEHICLE COMPRISES FRAME MEANS, A TOOL HOLDER MEANS ROTATIVELY ATTACHED TO THE FRAME MEANS FOR ROTATION TO ENGAGE A WORKPIECE AND INSTRUMENTATION TO AID AND OBSERVE THE RECOVERY OPERATION. THE INSTRUMENTATION IS USED TO ASSIST IN POSITIONING THE VEHICLE UNDER WATER ADJACENT THE OBJECT TO BE RECOVERED AND INCLUDES SONAR, CLOSED CIRCUIT TELEVISION, LIGHTING APPARATUS AND THE LIKE. THE TOOL HOLDER MEANS IS ADAPTED TO CARRY VARIOUS TOOLS INCLUDING HOOKS, NOOSES, WRENCHES, NETS, CLAWS, CLAMS, DRILLS, AND THE LIKE.

1971 N. F. RICHBURG UNDERWATER EXPLORATION AND RECOVERY VEHICLE.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 18. 1969 ,SGWAM 777% #TTOF/YEKS' 1971 N. F. RICHBURG UNDERWATER EXPLQRATION AND RECOVERY VEHICLE Filed NOV. 18. 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I- II IllI-Il Fl United States Patent Ofice 3,626,703 Patented Dec. 14, 1971 US. C]. 61-69 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An underwater exploration and recovery vehicle capable of recovering submerged objects from the depths of an ocean or lake. The vehicle comprises frame means, a tool holder means rotatively attached to the frame means for rotation to engage a workpiece and instrumentation to aid and observe the recovery operation. The instrumentation is used to assist in positioning the vehicle under water adjacent the object to be recovered and includes sonar, closed circuit television, lighting apparatus and the like. The tool holder means is adapted to carry various tools including hooks, nooses, wrenches, nets, claws, clams, drills, and the like.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an underwater exploration and recovery vehicle for use in recovering objects from the depths of a body of water. 'It further relates to improvements in underwater exploration and recovery devices which utilize recovery apparatus and tools which are uniquely adapted for use by rotative motion thereof. The invention relates further to an underwater vehicle which carries underwater closed circuit television, sonar and other positioning instrumentation to aid in guiding the vehicle to a location adjacent a submerged workpiece and a tool holder and operating means to enable underwater manipulation of a workpiece and recovery of submerged objects.

PRIOR ART Underwater exploration devices which are remotely controlled from the surface are known to the art. Such devices frequently provide a means for maneuvering a vehicle underwater by lengthening and shortening cables which pass from an anchor about sheaves attached to the vehicle and upward to the vehicle tender or ship No means is provided to utilize equipment and tools for recovery purposes which require rotation for use. Delicate recovery operations for submerged devices on the floor of the ocean are difficult and frequently impossible since provision is made only for raising and lowering tools. Heretofore, no apparatus known permits careful and selective positioning of rotationally operated underwater recovery apparatus in conjunction with an instrument platform provid ing lighting, sonor, closed circuit television and the like to aid in exploration of the ocean floor and recovery of object positioned thereon.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is a primary object of this invention to provide a workable underwater exploration and recovery vehicle which combines an instrumentation-carrying frame or platform with means to operate and use rotationally operated recovery apparatus.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an underwater vehicle having the capability of being maneuvered underwater which carries a rotationally operated tool holder apparatus. A related object is to provide a new type of snare apparatus for use as the tool on the rotationally operated tool holder.

One additional object of this invention is to provide an underwater exploration and recovery vehicle which may be remotely controlled or controlled by a diver situated thereon, which combines the use of closed circuit television and other instrumentation as aids in underwater navigation with a rotationally operated tool for use in engaging and recovering submerged objects.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the instant invention, there is provided a suitable support means. The support means may be supported from the surface or may be free to move about under its own power to seek a rendezvous with a submerged object for the purpose of recovering the object. The support means rotatably carries a tool holder adapted to operate salvage and recovery apparatus which finds utility through rotation. The support means carries the various utilities and support equipment necessary for operation of the vehicle and use of the tools attached thereto. Such utilities and equipment may include closed circuit television, lights, sonar, depth gauges, compasses and the like. The lights, closed circuit television, sonar and other sensors are conveniently mounted for use, and are positioned above the rotativeiy mounted tool holder attached to the support means. A noose emplacing tool is disclosed and is designed to emplace a noose about a submerged object to retrieve the object to the surface.

The lower portions of the support means comprises a pair of skids which permits storage of the vehicle on the deck of a ship or elsewhere without necessity of a specially-prepared surface or mounting bracket. Any level surface may be used. The skids may also serve as a support means for the vehicle when emplaced upon the bottom of the ocean or other body of water for special applications of the unique capabilities of this vehicle. The

tool holder may be adapted to carry hooks, nooses, wrenches, claws, clams, drills and other types of tools typically useful in underwater exploration and recovery operations. The various tools which find use with this invention may be positioned, directed, and remotely controlled by electric cable or hydraulic drive means and the operation thereof observed through closed circuit television with the aid of lights illuminating the work space. Delicate recovery and exploratory operations heretofore impossible with underset vehicles of the prior art may be carefully and accurately undertaken with the device of this invention.

These and other features, objects and advantages of the invention will become more fully evident from the following description thereof by reference to the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic elevational view showing one embodiment of the underwater exploration and recovery vehicle suspended from a ship or other surface tender unit at any depth above the ocean bottom.

FIG. 2 is a side view of one embodiment of the underwater exploration and recovery vehicle showing the components thereof and the various positions of the tool holder means in outline.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the device shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 shows a fragmentary view of one embodiment of the tool holder portion of the vehicle having a recovery noose apparatus attached thereto.

Referring now in detail to the drawings there is seen in FIG. 1 a representation of the means to suspend the vehicle of this invention from a tender ship, barge or the like. A ships anchor 14 is placed on the bottom with anchor cable 15 extending upwardly to the tender 1.

Two other anchors 4 and 9 are placed on the bottom and attached with cables 5 and to floats 3 and 8, respectively. The floats are attached to the tender 1 with cables 6 and 11. The tender 1 is thus held in position relative to the three anchor points 4, 9 and 14. The vehicle, generally indicated at 18, is suspended from the tender ship by a cable 17 having an umbilical (not shown) attached thereto to supply electrical and instrumentation connections and other utilities to the vehicle.

Vertical support for the vehicle is supplied by support cable 17. Two upwardly extending cables 7 and 12 are attached to the vehicle and extend upwardly to floats 3 and 8, respectively, and then travel to an independently operated winch apparatus for each on board the tender 1. A third control cable 16 extends from the vehicle 18 to the ships anchor 14 and thence upward to the tender 1 where it is taken in with an independently operated winch apparatus on board the tender 1. The three cables 7, 12 and 16 serve to position the vehicle at any desired location in an area roughly defined by the two fioats and the ships anchor and substantially prevent rotative motion of the upper assembly 20 of the underwater vehicle.

The vehicle is seen to be made up of an upper assembly 20, a lower or skid assembly 21 and a tool holder apparatus 22 which may be adapted to engage, manipulate or recover a device 19 lying on the bottom of the body of water or at some position intermediate the bottom and the surface of the body of water.

Referring in detail to FIGS. 2 and 3, the vehicle is shown with the vehicle suspension cable 17 and the umbilical 2 extending upwardly toward the tender. Positioning lines 7, 12 and 16 are shown extending outwardly from the vehicle. The central bearing carries at its lower extreme end a peripheral gear 34 which engages a pinion 37. The skid frame assembly support shaft 35 is journaled into the central bearing 30 to support the skid frame assembly 21. Rotative motion between the upper assembly 20 and the skid frame assembly 21 is provided by rotation of pinion 37 by drive motor 31. Rotation about the vertical axis is permitted only to the extent of approximately 360 to prevent damage to the umbilical by snarling and twisting. The skid frame assembly 21 serves as the instrumentation platform and operating base for the tools which may be used in the practice of this invention. The instrumentation and related equipment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 include lights 40 for illumination of the bottom of the body of water and to provide light for the television camera 41. The light 40 and television camera 41 are mounted on a pan and tilt assembly 38 such that the instruments may be aimed to permit illumination and observation of the bottom of the body of water in general and specifically an object 19. A sonar device 42 is provided to aid in locating a device on the bottom of the body of water and in underwater navigation to the vehicle at the desired location. Other instrumentation may be provided which may be of assistance in navigation exploration and use of the functional capabilities of the vehicle. Such instrumentation may include inter alia depth gauges, compass apparatus, thermometers and apparatus suitable for measuring conductivity, salinity, turbidity and other properties of the water surrounding the vehicle. Such instrumentation may be placed if desired in a location which is easily scanned by rotation of the pan and tilt apparatus 38 which carries the light 40 and the television camera 41 to read and evaluate information noted on the instrumentation.

Attached to the bottom of the skid frame assembly are a pair of skids 36 which serve as storage frame for the device when it is placed on the deck of a ship or the like, obviating the necessity of storage cradles or similar specialized equipment necessary for the devices of the prior art. The skids 36 may also be utilized when the device is at or near the bottom of the body of water so that the vehicle may come to rest on the bottom to provide a perfectly stable platform for operation of the intended functions of the vehicle. This feature is of great assistance in the delicate exploration and recovery operations for which this device is intended.

Journaled into the skid frame 21 for rotative motion is a tool holder assembly 22. The tool holder shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 comprises a tubular section extending between the two sides of skid frame assembly 36 and is adapted to carry a tool which finds utility through rotation about a horizontal axis. Tool holder 22 is caused to rotate by a cable chain or rope drive apparatus 44. One embodiment of this apparatus comprises a cable 43 which is wound around the tubular tool holder 22 a plurality of times to establish frictional engagement therewith sufficient to cause rotation of the tool holder 22. The other end of cable 43 is wound about a mandrel a number of times and connected with the first end of the cable such that an endless cable driving apparatus results which will cause rotation of tool holder 22 when the mandrel 45 is rotated. The mandrel 45 may be rotated by any of a number of means including electric motor, hydraulic motor, cable drive and the like. Tools which may be adapted for use with tool holder 22 include hooks, nooses, wrenches, claws, clams, drills and the like typically used for an underwater exploration and recovery operations. These tools are adapted to the tool holder 22 such that they may be rotated from a rest position shown in outline in FIG. 2 which is nestled between the skids 36 and out of the way for storage purposes, through an arc of approximately 270 to serve the intended function of the tool element carried by tool holder 22.

The tool holder apparatus may of course be oriented to rotate about a vertical axis or about any other derived axis or may be mounted so that its axis of rotation may be changed at will. This provides for the particular characteristics of the many types of tools which may be used with this invention.

The specific and uniquely useful underwater recovery tool shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 is a noose-type snare device which comprises a frame 48 carrying a snare noose 49 attached thereto With a plurality of light string ties 52. The snare noose 49 may be used to encircle and pick up a device lying on the bottom which is either partly exposed or covered with the soft bottom sediment type material found in many parts of the oceans and in many fresh water lakes and streams. The noose 49 is formed at one end of a snare line 47, the other end of which is wound around a snare line reel 50. The snare line reel 50 is preferably driven by an electric or hydraulic motor and may be operated on signals from the surface, to reel in the snare line 47 causing the snare noose 49 to close around an object 19. Alternately, snare line 47 may be fed separately to the surface and hauled in by a winch on the tender 1.

To use the snare device the vehicle is moved to a location adjacent and slightly above the object to be picked up. The sonar and closed circuit TV is then used to locate the object 19. Skid frame assembly is then rotated about its vertical axis with respect to the upper assembly 20 to position the lower assembly in proper angular location with regard to the object 19. The tool holder assembly is then rotated to emplace the snare frame 48 carrying noose 49 about the object 19. The snare line 47 is then taken up on the snare line reel 50 until the string ties 52 are broken and the noose tightens around the object 19. The entire operation is monitored and observed by the use of the closed circuit television and lighting system. When the noose 49 is firmly attached about object 19 the snare line 47 may be hauled in and the entire vehicle with object 19 hanging below raised to the surface. The condition of the vehicle and the object 19 attached may be observed during the raising operation by use of the closed circuit television and other monitors.

Snare line 47 may be fed directly to the surface rather than being wound about snare line reel 50. In this variation, the snare line, with its object 19 attached, is hauled in by tender 1 independent of the vehicle 18 which may remain on the bottom or be moved to a convenient location away from the object 19 being raised.

The electronic instrumentation and services necessary to operate the vehicle and its associated sensor devices are contained in a pair of instrument containers 53 and 54. These containers are sealed against the hyperbaric pressure encountered in deep sea operations and contain relays, switching mechanisms rotational drives for the television and lighting and other devices necessary for operation of the various drive motors, the television camera, depth sensors, sonar, lights and the like. An instrument cable 55 provides connection between the instrument containers and the umbilical 13 extends up to the surface to the tender 1 and provides the necessary instrumentation, electrical and other utility connections between the tender and the vehicle.

Many variations of the apparatus described herein will be apparent to one skilled in the art yet are within the scope and spirit of this invention. For example, the basic elements of a support means and a rotatable tool holder may be operated and positioned by a diver if the operation is at a depth to which divers may descend. The rotatable tool holder may be positioned on the support means for rotation about axes other than horizontal, or may be adapted for universal rotation. The support means may comprise a single frame unit rather than the two relatively rotatable units of the preferred embodiment. Several rotatable tool holder means may be used to operate upon various parts of the submerged object being recovered at the same time.

I claim as my invention:

1. An underwater exploration and recovery vehicle comprising:

a support means depending from and supported by a surface tender, said support means comprising an upper support assembly and a skid frame assembly pivotally attached to said upper support assembly for rotation about a vertical axis;

a tool holder means journaled into said skid frame assembly for rotation about a horizontal axis, said tool holder means adapted to receive a tool and position said tool for use by rotation thereof from a first stored position within said skid frame assembly to a second operative position outside said skid frame assembly; and,

means to cause said tool holder means to rotate respect to said skid frame assembly.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said tool holder means carries a noose-carrying frame adapted to emplace a snare noose about a submerged object by rotation of said tool holder means.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said snare noose is formed from one end of a flexible member, the other end of said flexible member being wound upon a Winding apparatus.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 and an instrument support assembly rotatively mounted on said support means, said instrument support assembly carrying instrumentation for assisting in exploration and recovery operations including closed circuit television apparatus lighting means, sonar and depth measuring apparatus.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 remotely operated from a surface tender.

6. An underwater exploration and recovery vehicle comprising:

an upper support assembly nonrotatively depending from a tender;

a skid frame assembly pivotally attached to said upper with support assembly and mounted for rotation about a vertical axis;

means to cause relative rotation not exceeding 360 between said upper support assembly and said skid frame assembly;

a rotatively mounted tool holder assembly journaled into said skid frame assembly and mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis said tool holder assembly constructed and arranged to receive an underwater exploration and recovery tool operable by rotation of said tool holder assembly from a first stowed position between the skids of said skid frame assembly downwardly through an are not exceeding about 270 to an operative position outside said skids; and,

means to cause relative rotation between said skid frame assembly and said tool holder assembly to position said tool for use.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said tool holder assembly carries a noose frame comprising a rigid frame member carrying a remotely releasable snare noose adapted to encircle and recover an object from the bottom of a body of water.

8. An underwater exploration and recovery vehicle system comprising:

a support assembly depending from and controlled by a tender;

an instrument mounting means rotatively attached to said assembly for rotation with respect to said assemy;

a tool holder means journaled into said assembly for rotative motion about a horizontal axis with respect to said assembly and constructed and arranged to move a tool by rotation from a first stowed position beneath said assembly downwardly through an are not exceeding about 270 to a second operative position wherein said tool is exposed outside said assembly for use in exploration and recovery operations;

means to cause relative rotational movement between said tool holder means and said assembly; and,

support and positioning means operatively connecting said tender to said vehicle and comprising a vehicle support cable depending from said tender to said vehicle and a plurality of positioning cables adapted to move said vehicle laterally said positioning cables each attached at one end thereof to said vehicle and extending outwardly therefrom to a point remote the vehicle, varying the length thereof causing lateral movement of said vehicle.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said positioning cables pass about a sheave attached at said point and thence back to said tender.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein at least one of said cables pass about a point at the surface of the water.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said tool means comprises a noose frame carrying a snare noose for encircling and recovering objects from the bottom of a body of water.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,324,239 6/1967 Jacobson 6169 X J. KARL BELL, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 114-16 

